HOW DO WE RESTORE SUSTAINABLE TRUST IN OUR SOCIETY?
BY INTERNATIONAL TRUST EXPERT ERIK SCHOPPEN
There is an increasing lack of trust. Locally. Socially. Globally. Sustainably.
In climate discussions, politics, media (what is still true), in fellow human beings or in digital technology due to the violation of privacy rights. And now in times of war scattered al over our planet, also our democracies, freedom of choice, security, biodiversity, and our food and energy systems are at great
risk.
In the last decade, many wars broke out, expanding and interconnecting various conflicts into a global trust crisis for sustainable peace. This is also devastating for saving our natural habitat, especially as we don't know how to resolve these issues.
This time is characterized as a VUCA era (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous).
We, as a people of this planet, will have to learn how to deal with a constantly changing world full of global challenges. We must work together to overcome this trust crisis.
Governments, NGOs and brand organizations should join forces and take a shared responsibility to protect our global commons - and play a social and sustainable role together in rebuilding trust in a liveable future for generations to come.
This requires a new kind of planetary, cross-generational leadership. We not only give every human a voice, but give all life ecosystems on this planet an equal voice as well.
An unmuted voice needs no leader - a new system to rebuild trust in our sustainable future
'Right now, we are at a point in the climate crisis where we have to make a choice whether we follow leaders who do not think cross-generational. Time is running out on our planet and many young people feel they have no voice. They want to express that their existential expectation is based on their trust in a sustainable future. We need cross-generational decision making. Therefore, we need a system with a people-planet approach. That uses our existing voting system, but incorporates a planetary voicing system too, to make future proof decisions that have no negative impact on the world. We not only give every human a voice, but give all life ecosystems on this planet a voice as well.'
REBUILDING TRUST - HOW TO RESTORE OUR SOCIAL, ORGANISATIONAL, TECHNOLOGICAL AND SOCIETAL TRUST SYSTEMS
Trust is essential for change, social cohesion and leadership. We are now in a global crisis of trust. Consumer confidence is collapsing on all levels. There is a lack of trust in how we try to solve the climate crisis. The media is becoming an unreliable source of information, due to 'fake' news and information warfare. And trust in fellow human beings is vanishing rapidly, as different cultural or political ideologies clash, leading to detachedness, hostility or even strong animosity.
Digital technology cannot be trusted anymore due to the violation of privacy rights. Governments and corperations are criticised – think of inflation, failing tax and housing policies or worsening education. But also democracies, freedom, biodiversity, and energy and food systems are under threat. But how do we fix this? How to restore trust? And how does this lead to sustainable behavior change? In his lecture Erik Schoppen shows how to build and deploy sustainable (brand) trust.
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